Remove Desktop and Documents folder from iCloud (Mac) (2024)

FAQs

Remove Desktop and Documents folder from iCloud (Mac)? ›

On your Mac, click the Finder icon in the Dock to open a Finder window, then click iCloud Drive in the sidebar. Drag the folder or file to the Trash, then click Delete.

On your Mac, click the Finder icon in the Dock to open a Finder window, then click iCloud Drive in the sidebar. Drag the folder or file to the Trash, then click Delete.

You have to disable iCloud Drive first to stop syncing files to iCloud Drive, then you can delete files from iCloud Drive. Because iCloud Drive will still sync files to the cloud if you did not turn off iCloud Drive first, and you can't empty iCloud Drive.

Under Locations, tap iCloud Drive. , then tap Select and choose the file(s) that you want to delete. Then tap Delete to remove the file(s) or folder(s) from iCloud Drive on all of your devices.

What happens when you turn off iCloud Drive or sign out of iCloud. If you turn off iCloud Drive or sign out of iCloud, a new Desktop and Documents folder is created in your home folder. You also have the option to keep a local copy of your files that are in iCloud Drive.

Important: When you delete a file from iCloud Drive on iCloud.com, it's also deleted from all your devices that have iCloud Drive turned on.

When you store your Desktop and Documents folders in iCloud Drive, you can access files from your Mac on all of your devices. That means you can start a document on your Desktop, then work on it later from your iPhone or iPad and on iCloud.com. Everything automatically stays up to date everywhere.

How do I make a folder not go to iCloud? ›

nosync to a file is a simple way to prevent iCloud from syncing that file. This technique is useful for selective syncing. However, adding the same extension to a folder will not prevent iCloud from syncing its contents. The only way to prevent an entire folder from syncing is to name it tmp or end it with .

Go to Apple Menu > System Preferences > iCloud > iCloud Drive > "Options" and UNcheck the "Desktop & Documents Folders" checkbox. You'll get a pop-up warning you that these files will only be stored in iCloud Drive if you disable Desktop and Documents syncing. Go ahead and click “Turn Off”.

Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud. Tap Review Backups to identify and delete backups from devices that you no longer use. Tap Review Photos & Videos to delete duplicate photos, screenshots, or videos that you might not need anymore.

Tap on [your name] at the very top. Go to the iCloud section. Tap on iCloud Drive. Disable the Desktop & Documents Folders toggle.

Tip: You can also download files directly from the iCloud.com homepage. In the Drive tile, click a file, then choose Download File. Learn how to use iCloud Drive on iCloud.com on a phone or tablet.

On Mac, if you go to System Preferences → Apple ID → iCloud, you will see a checkbox for “Optimize Mac Storage”. Unchecking this might prevent iCloud from deleting your files. But it will stop it from optimizing any other folders that you did want optimized. You might find a similar setting on the iPad.

Step 1: Right-click on the Start > Task Manager. Step 2: Tap Startup located at the top of the Task Manager window. Step 3: Go to iCloud entry in the list of programs. Choose Disable.

Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud. Tap Manage Account Storage or tap Manage Storage, then tap Backups. Tap the name of the device that you're using. Turn off any apps that you don't want to back up.